Market Information

Market Information

Air passenger demand is increasing globally (3.8%) and is forecast to double by 2034.

With nearly every passenger using a smart device as an essential travel tool, the demand for more tech-enabled services from airlines and airports is on the rise.

61% of respondents to the 2017 SITA passenger survey indicated that they would use or like to use their mobile devices to access information about their flight, during their flight.

Currently 3.8 billion passengers fly annually, but only 25% of planes offer onboard WiFi of any kind; by 2035, high quality, secure in-flight WiFi is expected to be ubiquitous.

High quality in-flight WiFi connectivity has been seen to deliver a 23% premium over the average passenger due to their expenditure on ancillary revenue, with airlines forecast to generate $0.9 billion in 2018 in broadband-enabled ancillary revenue.

Airlines and airports are estimated to have spent nearly US$33bn on passenger technology solutions in 2017. Airlines' spend as a percentage of revenue rose to an estimated 3.30% or US$24.3bn in 2017.

Investment in passenger self-service, cyber security and cloud services is said to be at the top of the agenda for CIOs at both airlines and airports.

Today, the vast majority of airlines provide check-in (73%), boarding (70%) and flight status notifications (68%) via mobile, and by 2020 more than 97% plan to do so. A key area of growth will be providing real-time flight updates over social media, which will jump from 31% of airlines doing so to 92% in the next three years.

Providing a seamless experience is key to airlines. In total, 94% rate streamlining services into a single app as a priority, with 58% rating this as a high priority, whilst 67% of passengers in the 2017 SITA passenger survey stated a preference for using their mobile devices to acquire this information.

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